Annapolis, MD to Cedar Creek, NC - October 19 to 27, 2009

The rain and wind finally stopped in Annapolis on Monday, October 19; we began our 150-mile trip down the Chesapeake Bay to Norfolk, Virginia, making three stops along the way.

Our first stop was Solomons, MD, to visit Ron and Suzie Williams who we met on our first trip South on our Gemini sailing catamaran.  

We stayed at their new house, which has a dock that is long enough to fit their Gemini Sailing Cat, Easy Time, and Duetto.

The next day, we traveled another 55 miles down the Bay to Jackson Creek on the Piankatank River along with many other cruisers.  We passed a tug and barge pretty closely, which is common during our travels.  This was a milestone day because we crossed into a new state, Virginia.

The entrance into Jackson Creek is very tricky; we  have seen several boats run aground. 

This was our first warm day since Annapolis.  We went from average temperatures of 45 to 70 degrees.  After we got anchored, we went for a walk in shorts, which was a welcome relief from our four days in Annapolis.

The next day was just as warm and sunny.  Several boats were leaving with us and we could see many other cruisers on the horizon once in the Chesapeake Bay. 

The Chesapeake Bay includes many lighthouses.  Below are pictures of a couple of the lighthouses we came close to. 

Thomas Point Light

Smith Point Light

Wolf Trap Light

From Jackson Creek, we traveled to Hampton, VA, taking a slip at their City docks.  We arrived early enough to visit the Virginia Air and Space Center.  On Thursday, we headed up the Elizabeth River to spend a few days in Norfolk.  This is about a 12-mile trip, which is always very interesting; you get to see lots of Navy ships, commercial traffic up-close-and-personal and all kinds of official boats.

Official Navy Boats Cruising the River.

Navy Ship No. 19 going out to sea for exercises.  The tug turning the ship looks so small.

Tug and Barge with containers.

Many Navy and Commercial ships are docked along the River.

We spent Thursday through Sunday in Norfolk visiting our friends Chris and Bill Beach, who we met three years ago as they were traveling South on their PDQ, Beach Magic.   This was also a stop for provisions, laundry, boat cleaning and chores.  Bill had ordered a new hydraulic cylinder for John to install while we were in Norfolk;  however, after further analysis, John realized both were leaking.  So we decided to nurse them along until we got to FL to replace them since it took six days for Bill to get the first one and we wanted to get further South.

In Norfolk, we stay at Waterside Marina, which is right next to Waterside Festival Marketplace.  

The Marina is next to the Nauticus Museum, which is a maritime educational center.  The famous Battleship Wisconsin is docked at its side. 

Captain John standing on the Battleship Wisconsin.

In front of the Nauticus Museum is a very touching Armed Forces Memorial.  Excerpts from 20 letters written home by U.S. service members who lost their lives in war (from Revolutionary War through Iraq) are scattered about.  The letters are cast in bronze.

Carnival cruise ships use the docks at the Museum as a base of operation.   We watched this ship turn around right off our dock.

We also saw a beautiful sunset over Norfolk Harbor.

Mermaid is the official logo of the City of Norfolk.  As you tour the City, beautiful Mermaids are on display.

On Monday, October 26, we left Norfolk at 7:30 a.m. prepared to do the "bridge and lock dance".  We had three bridges to get under based on their opening schedule and one lock. 

There were  24 boats waiting with us for the Gilmerton Bridge 8:30 a.m. opening.

Then, we all rushed to the Steel Bridge for its 9:00 a.m. opening.

Then it's off to the Great Bridge Lock.  Not all boats made the 10:00 a.m. locking because they couldn't fit everyone, so some had to wait for the 11:00 a.m. locking.   This can put a cramp in your schedule!

And finally we all waited for the Great Bridge to open, which is immediately following the Lock.

Once we had the bridges and lock behind us, it was now time to be concerned about a couple of Sounds that we had to go across, which can get pretty rough in a heavy wind.  The wind was blowing from the NE at 15-20 knots, gusting to 25.  Currituck Sound was a little choppy, but not bad at all.  Albemarle Sound was a different story...the waves were 2-4 feet, but behind us, so it was doable, however, steering was a little difficult.  Once we got through the Sound, we had difficulty seeing the buoys that go through a very narrow passage due to low visibility.  We were glad when we reached the Alligator River Marina at 4:00 p.m., even though it was cool and misty.  The shower felt great and the wine delicious!  It was another milestone day....we were now in North Carolina.

On Tuesday, October 27, we left Alligator River Marina at 7:30 a.m., along with five other cruising boats.   It was another cloudy, misty day with fog for the first 25 miles.

We were glad that we were familiar with the area.  After the fog lifted, we continued traveling for another 80 miles.  Travel was fairly calm, but at the end of this trip, we had  to travel up the Neuse River, which can also be rough in heavy wind.    When we got to the River, the wind had calmed and the seas were like glass.  It was certainly a welcome ending to a long day.  We anchored in Cedar Creek for the night along with eight other cruising boats.  Our plan for the next day is to make more progress through North Carolina, but only a 40-mile day.  Our next Update will include our experiences traveling through NC.

Atlantic City, NJ to Annapolis, MD - October 11 to 18

During our two-day stay in Atlantic City, we were treated to a great sunset.

On Sunday, October 11, the wind finally calmed down and we left Atlantic City via the Abescon Inlet for the 45-mile open-ocean trip to Cape May.  The seas were very calm and it was a beautiful sunny day.

The Atlantic City lighthouse can be seen as we were transiting the Inlet.

As we traveled South, Wildwood could be seen on shore.

We arrived in Cape May at 11:30 a.m. and did a sea condition check on the Delaware Bay.  Since calm seas were predicted to continue throughout the day we continued on, traveling through the Cape May Canal into the Delaware Bay for our 56-mile trip to the C and D Canal. 



As we passed through Cape May, we saw many tour and commercial fishing boats.

The Delaware Bay contains a heavily-used shipping channel through the center of the Bay. We travel just outside the channel, but need to avoid some of the landmarks, like the Ship John Shoal Light.

The NJ Nuclear Power Plant could be seen for miles.

The entrance to the C and D Canal is hard to see from a distance because of a very low breakwater.












We traveled 14-miles into the Canal and stopped in Chesapeake City for the night.





We arrived at Chesapeake City around 4:00 p.m. and John squeezed Duetto into a very tight spot on the town's free dock.  The beautiful, calm weather stayed with us all day, so we were able to have a glass of wine on the fly bridge and saw some unusual travelers in the Canal.

On Monday, we went to our favorite restaurant for breakfast, cleaned the outside of the boat since we had water at the dock, then left around 11:00 a.m. for our 45-mile trip to Annapolis.  Again, we traveled just outside the shipping channel, but the only obstacles to avoid were all the crab pots.  As we reach Annapolis via the Severn River, the US Naval Academy can be seen at the entrance to Annapolis Harbor.

    

As we go by the Annapolis Yacht Club, the AYC racers provide entertainment.

We went under the Spa Creek Bridge and picked up one of the town's moorings.

Annapolis is one of our favorite places to visit, especially during the Boat Show. The City provides boaters with lots of shore access with public docks for your dinghy, dumpsters for trash and readily available pump out boats.  On Tuesday, we put our new bikes ashore and road to the Giant Grocery store for groceries.    You can see Duetto on its mooring by the Spa Creek Bridge in the background.

On Wednesday, Diane took a walk and visited all the unique shops around Main Street. From the top of Main Street there is a nice view of Annapolis Harbor. There were lots of flowers brightening the streets.  John took a bike ride to West Marine and other Hardware stores looking for some parts.

The weather prediction for Thursday through Sunday was for cold, wind and rain.  Unfortunately, the weather prediction was correct.  It has been the four most miserable days we have spent on the boat.  Temperatures averaged high 40's to very low 50 degrees and heavy, constant rain.  Most of the time we didn't go outside, except for hot showers, which is about 1/8-mile dinghy ride, then a couple of blocks of walking.  Needless to say, it was hard to think about going out, but the hot shower sure felt great!  Plus, Diane threw any wet clothes in the dryer.  John got up each morning to turn the generator on for heat, which we would run all day long.   Sunday morning was the coldest; 46 degrees inside the boat.  The windows on the boat were constantly fogged, causing them to drip; made for a damp feeling inside!

We have made good use of our time to develop our second BLOG posting, which requires lots of time due to learning curve!

On Friday, we ventured out to the Power Boat Show.  It was bone-chilling cold and the rain was beginning to flood parts of the area.  We were glad we wore our boots.  After the show, we met a couple for dinner at Middleton's, which was nice and warm.  

The current weather prediction is for clearing Sunday night.  If that happens and the seas are calm, we plan to travel to Solomon's Island to visit cruising friends we met on our first ICW trip South, then make our way South to Norfolk by Thursday. 

We will be in Norfolk for a couple of days.  John has to install a new hydraulic steering cylinder and we'll be visiting our "PDQ" friends who live there.    After Norfolk it's full speed ahead to get South into, hopefully, warmer weather!